Tonight, I Will
by fortunatexfool
Summary: It's the gang's final homecoming dance of high school. Jimmy and Cindy are going together, but just as friends. Will one of them get the courage to tell the other how they feel? My first fanfic, R&R but be kind. : JxC and SxL.
1. Contemplation

**Tonight, I Will  
A Jimmy Neutron Fanfiction  
Chapter 1: Contemplation**

**Disclaimer: I do not and will never own Jimmy Neutron. (sadly) heh..  
**

* * *

Goddard stared at his master intently as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was hardly blinking at all; he hardly took a _breath._ That was how Jimmy got sometimes, when he was deep in thought. _Especially_ in deep thoughts of _her_…"the girl of his dreams".  
Goddard shook his mechanical head. Such a genius, his master, and yet, oh, so oblivious. He was always so afraid to tell her how he felt, so scared that she wouldn't feel the same way. Of course she did! Could he not see the love for him that dwelled in her eyes? He had watched them talk before, from darker corners of the lab. Her eyes hardly left his. They shone with a noticeable brilliance when she looked at him, a brilliance that no one else could put there. He remembered when she ran over her after Nick had "shamelessly dumped her", as Jimmy put it. She buried her head in his chest and cried, choking out 'thank you's' and apologies and other random words. He came so close to telling her how he felt that night; Goddard could tell by the look on his face. But he stopped himself. He _always_ stopped himself.  
The robotic dog wondered why Jimmy did this to himself. To her. Was he really planning on waiting forever? If only he had it in his power to intervene and show Cindy those tapes. The ones Jimmy _didn't_ know about. The ones of his and Jimmy's last night conversations…about _her_. She'd love to know her feelings were returned. But Goddard knew that wasn't his business. They had to get together on their own.  
_ Somehow…_

Jimmy blew his bangs out of his face, pointlessly of course. They always fell back in front of his left eye. He somewhat reminded himself of Sad Jimmy. Oh well. It was still a lot better than his long-gone soft serve haircut from elementary school. He laughed, recalling that head of hair he used to have and the day that he finally decided he needed a change. Everyone had been shocked, especially Cindy. He remembered her telling him how much "hotter" he looked. He had blushed at that comment, not knowing whether or not she was kidding.  
_How he loved their little moments…_  
He looked at himself again, leaning on the dresser. He had changed a lot since the old days at Lindbergh. He had, in time, realized that there were other elements of life other than science. Not that he didn't still invent something or go on adventures again from time to time. He had started writing. He had written about four poems and a sci-fi/romance novel. All inspired by _her…_  
There were physical changes as well. He was now 6'0"; he thought again of Cindy, about the times she had made fun of him for being so short. "Look who's talking now," he whispered to himself. She had grown to about 5'6". Relatively tall, but still shorter than him. He laughed again.  
Cindy had changed a lot too. They were no longer rivals, but best friends. She had grown taller (as he had just mentally mentioned), her eyes had gotten greener (at least in his opinion)…he even admitted that he thought her figure had come and filled out nicely. He recalled how she felt when he embraced her in a friendly hug, how fragile her small frame felt in his arms. He tugged at his collar, suddenly feeling hot.  
She definitely was not the little girl she used to be. She was a young woman now. And a beautiful one, at that.  
Jimmy wiped the sweat from his brow and spoke aloud again. "Dammit. How can I be so smart, yet so stupid? Why can't I just tell her how I feel?"  
His negative side reared its ugly head once again. "Because you're afraid of the possible aftermath. You're afraid it will hurt like hell."  
He continued arguing with himself. "But what if it doesn't? What if she loves me, too? What if…what if she really_ is_ the girl of my dreams?"  
Jimmy smoothed down his dark blue dress shirt, loosened his white tie and sighed. "Well, I suppose I should head over to Sheen's house so we can pick up the girls at Libby's. The dance is in fifteen minutes. I'll see you later, Goddard!"  
He heard Goddard make a noise and turned around. Across the mechanical dog's screen was a simple message: "Tell her. Tell her tonight."  
"I think I might just be able to, boy."

Cindy growled in frustration; her long, blonde hair would _not_ cooperate with her at all! She twisted her hair and threw it into a blue hairclip. She was not one to freak out about her hair or other elements of her appearance too often, but this was different. This was her final homecoming dance of high school; she would be graduating in May. And she was going with _him._ As friends, sure, but it was good enough for her. Maybe, just maybe, tonight would be the night. _The night she finally told him…_  
"Libby! What am I gonna do! The guys are gonna be here soon and I have no idea what to do with my hair!"  
"Are you kidding me? Girl, look at yourself in the mirror! Your hair looks _fine!_"  
Cindy turned to face the mirror. She raised her eyebrows in surprise; her hair did look good like that. Plus, it would be easier to wear it up; she wouldn't have to worry about it so much that way. For sake of taste, she pulled two small strands of hair out of the clip and let them hang in her face. She straightened her black tank top. Smiling, she twirled around in a circle, her blue salsa-dress-style skirt fluttering with it. Libby laughed. "You look great, Cindy. Really."  
"Thanks! You don't look so bad yourself!" Libby was wearing a semi-formal red dress with an uneven hem, black material lying underneath. It came to just below her knees. She was currently putting on her black flats and threatened to throw one of them at her blonde friend.  
"Oh! I gave you 'great', and you give me 'not so bad'! Jerk! Heh. Just playin', Cin."  
"Hmm." Cindy replied simply, smiling a little. She sighed and fell onto Libby's bed, lying on her side, careful not to mess up her hair.  
"You look very wistful right now, Cindy."  
"Mmm…"  
"Thinking about _him,_ aren't you?"  
She only nodded, ever so slightly.  
"Come on, girl. Don't you see the way he looks at you? It's so obvious that he loves you, too!"  
A small grin appeared on Cindy's face.  
"I sure hope you're right, Libs."  
"…What are you saying, Cindy?"  
"I think…I think I'm gonna tell him. Tonight."  
"Ah! Finally!" Libby shrieked. She ran to her now-standing best friend and gave her a huge hug.  
"Girl, he'd better say 'yes'…"  
"Tell me about it."

* * *

_A/N: Well? What do you think? Horrible? Great? This is my first fanfic. Read and review please. Try to keep it polite :)  
Chapter 2 coming soon!_


	2. A Message

**Tonight, I Will  
A Jimmy Neutron Fanfiction  
Chapter 2: "A Message"**

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Reviews make me smile. :) I couldn't wait to post Chapter 2 so I went ahead and uploaded it. Hope you enjoy it as well :D  
Disclaimer: I still do not own Jimmy Neutron, or this awesome Coldplay song. ("A Message")

* * *

Cindy and Libby were still hugging when the doorbell rang.

"That'll be my Sheeny…and Jimmy." Libby said, giggling.

Cindy rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue. _"Sheeny"…she's such a dork when it comes to that boy, _she thought, slipping on her black flip flops. After smoothing her hair one final time, she turned and followed Libby down the stairs to the front door. They opened the door and their stood their men.

"Libs!"

"Sheeny!"

They embraced and Sheen promptly kissed her on the lips as they walked out to his Ford Pinto. Jimmy and Cindy rolled their eyes and laughed. "So is my date ready?" he asked, holding out his arm for her to take.

Cindy smiled. _He's so cute. _"Of course!" she replied, linking her arm in his and kissing him on the cheek. She giggled at the faint blush that appeared on his face and he smiled warmly at her. Escorting her to the car, she couldn't help but notice that that goofy grin never left his face. He opened the passenger door of his Mustang for her. She slowly let go of his arm and sat down. Before getting himself, he turned around to see Libby and Sheen practically making out in his Pinto.

"Hey! Lovebirds! Could you possibly calm it down for a few minutes so we can _leave?"_

Sheen broke the kiss he and Libby were in and glared at Jimmy. "Lame! You ruined the moment!"

Jimmy laughed. "Sorry, Sheen, but really should get going."

He pouted. "Fine."

Jimmy saw Sheen take his girlfriend's chin and kiss her once more, and then finally start his car. Jimmy turned back to Cindy and smiled at her. "I swear, those two would do it in public if it weren't illegal."

"Yeah, really."

With that, he started the car and they were off, butterflies in both their stomachs, wondering about the night to come.

Jimmy and Cindy danced on the sides of the gym floor to the upbeat rock song. Jimmy was making Cindy laugh yet again by doing all sorts of strange dance moves. She almost died laughing when he started doing the bump; she had nearly gotten lightheaded so he held her for a moment, making sure she would be okay. He knew that probably wasn't necessary, but he couldn't help it. He loved having her in his arms, even if she didn't know how he really felt…at least not yet.

He noticed how disgusted she looked all of a sudden. "What's wrong?"  
"Bleck. Look at Nick and Brittany." she said, pointing behind him. They were grinding.

He grimaced. "Ugh. Why does everybody do that at dances? They really need to save it for the bedroom."

She laughed. "I know! Man. I'd kill any guy who ever tried to grind with me."

"Me too." He soon realized what he said.

"Crap! I mean---"

She burst out laughing at him, almost crying. She looked at his reddened face and smiled sympathetically. "I know what you mean, Jim." she said, touching his cheek lightly.

His stomach fluttered at the touch of her delicate hands. _Oh, man. Does she have any idea what she's doing to me right now?_

Before long, a slow song finally came on. _Yes!_ They smiled knowingly at each other. Cindy placed her hands on his shoulders; Jimmy placed his hands on her waist and protectively pulled her close. "Let's get away from Nick and Brittany. I don't wanna throw up on you."

"_Thank_ you."

The words of the song started and Cindy's eyes lit up. "Whoa! It's a Coldplay song. Since when does our school's DJ play _Coldplay_?"

"And you're asking _why? _It's about time our school started playing some good music. I think it's "A Message"."

_**My song is love  
Love to the loveless shown  
And it goes up  
You don't have to be alone  
Your heavy heart  
Is made of stone  
And it's so hard to see you clearly  
You don't have to be on your own  
You don't have to be on your own  
**_  
It struck him then. _Tell her, Jimmy. Now. _He knew he had to, but he couldn't figure out how to say it. He wanted to be as smooth and as eloquent as possibly. But his mind went blank.  
Then he realized that the song that was playing right now was perfect. Sure, he had hoped to be a little less...cliché about doing this. But to hell with it. It was now or never. He started quietly at first, but she finally heard his sincere voice…

_**And I'm not gonna take it back  
And I'm not gonna say I don't mean that  
You're the target that I'm aiming at  
Got to get that message home**_

She stared at him in wonder. He had never sung for her before. She had no idea he _could _sing. _He _had no idea he could sing. She smiled, nearly crying. He thought he was going to cry himself.  
He thought of the years he had spent denying that he loved her. He was sick of that. He knew she was sick of it, too. Tonight, now, he was ending it all. For good.

**_My song is love  
My song is love, unknown  
But I'm on fire for you, clearly  
You don't have to be alone  
You don't have to be on your own_**

And I'm not gonna take it back  
And I'm not gonna say I don't mean that  
You're the target that I'm aiming at  
And I'm nothing on my own  
Got to get that message home

He smiled his sincerest smile at her and brushed the tears from her eyes with his right thumb. Pulling her close, her head resting on his chest, he continued singing, taking in the scent of her shampoo. _God. She smells like jasmine...just like that Valentine's Day seven yeras ago..._

**And I'm not gonna stand and wait  
Not gonna leave it until it's much too late  
On a platform I'm gonna stand and say  
That I'm nothing on my own**

Pulling back from her a little, he laid his right hand on her neck so she could see his face. And with that, he sang the final lines of the song, a single tear escaping from his eye...

**_And I love you, please come home._**

My song is love, is love unknown  
And I've got to get that message home.

Cindystared in captivation. Jimmy began panicking; what the hell was he supposed to do now! He could no longer rely on Coldplay for romantic words.He was on his own.  
But then he realized that he really didn't need to say much else. He could tell by her eyes that she already knew. She finally knew. She finally knew how he felt about her. But there was one more thing he had to do. Slowly, he leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips. She was surprised at first, but then he felt her subtly kiss him back. He pulled her closer until there was almost no space between them.

It was a magical scene to everyone around them. Sheen and Libby smiled in approval and happiness for their best friends. People squealed and whistled; it was unknown to the two newfound lovers just how long everyone had waited to see this day, the day that Jimmy Neutron and Cindy Vortex finally admitted how in love with each other they really were.

Jimmy finally pulled away and stared into Cindy's emerald green eyes and smiled. He leaned towards her ear and whispered softly, "I love you, Cin."

She smiled wider than he had ever seen her smile before. It was a different kind of smile, an almost seductive one. He grew slightly nervous as she continued this look. After what seemed like an eternity, she grabbed hold of his tie and pulled him towards her, kissing him again, this time deepening it even more. When she finally pulled away, she looked into his ocean eyes and confidently replied, "I love you, too."

Cindy Vortex had never been happier in her life. She was halfway through the night, taking a short breather from dancing, sitting in Jimmy Neutron's lap. She laid her head on his chest and sighed as he wrapped both his arms around her, kissing her on the forehead.

"I've never been so happy in my life, Cindy."

"Me either."

The couple sat in silence for a few moments; Cindy noticed that their breathing was almost perfectly in time. _Makes sense. Our hearts beat together now. _She smiled at that thought.

Jimmy looked towards the door and saw Sheen and Libby leaving. "Hmm…wonder where they're going…"

He raised an eyebrow suggestively. Cindy gaped and slapped him playfully. "You need to get your mind out of the gutter, James Neutron! Besides, they're not the first people to leave. This dance is pretty lame."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. I mean, probably the only reason I'm having fun is…well, you."

She smiled at him and tickled his neck with her nose. "You're too sweet."

They sat quietly again for a little while longer. Suddenly, Jimmy piped up. "You wanna get out of here?"

"What?"

"You know? Leave?"

"Why?"

"I know the perfect place a few miles out of town we can go. The starlight is brighter there than any place I've ever seen near Retroville; you'll love it. Come on."

"Okay." she replied, smiling. She started to get off his lap, but he stopped her and scooped her up into his arms.

"Well, aren't we cavalier?"

He chuckled and grinned at her. "Thank you very much, my fair lady."

And with that, he carried her out to his car in the parking lot, floating on air the whole way.

* * *

_Believe it or not...that's not the end! There's still a Chapter 3. Sort of an epilogue-type chapter. I mean...don't you wanna know what became of their suddenly planned trip? heh. Don't worry, the rating won't go up from T.  
R&R please. have a wonderful day. May your life be filled with much love. :D_


	3. Night Drive

**Tonight, I Will  
A Jimmy Neutron Fanfiction  
Chapter 3: Night Drive  
**  
Somewhat of a long chapter. But it _is_ the ending chapter. Everyone loves a nice, long ending, right:D

Disclaimer: I _still_ do not own Jimmy Neutron. I'll let you know if that ever happens. :P

* * *

"Jimmy! Slow down! The speed limit is 55 and you're going nearly 70! What if a police officer comes down the road!" 

"Well, let him pull me over. I'm high on adrenaline tonight, babe."

"Are you sure you're not high on something else!" _He called me "babe"!_

"Oh, I'm just kidding with you. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to go over that much. I'll slow down."

"Good."

He took his right hand off the wheel and extended it towards her, and she took it.

_Poor Cindy. I shouldn't have freaked her out like that. But still...it was kind of funny, watching her squirm like that. _He laughed to himself.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Come on, Jim. Tell me!"

"I was just thinking how amusing it was, watching you freak out."

She gave him her death glare, jokingly of course.

"Haha. Come on, Cin. You know how I love messing with you. But I still love you." He stole a glance at her, smiling widely, and then brought his eyes back to the road.

Within about twenty minutes, they came to an area of the road where it was safe to pull off. Jimmy parked the car and once again, opened the door for Cindy. Only this time, as her boyfriend. He smiled at that thought.

She stared blankly. "Jimmy…this is a field. Of tall grass."

"So? What were you expecting, a barren wasteland?"

"I don't know. I guess. I just…really don't wanna walk through it. Allergies, you know."

Jimmy sighed. "My high maintenance woman."

Cindy shot him a dark look, causing him to raise his hands in surprise. "Just kidding!"

She giggled, hiding her face just slightly.

"What?"

"You're cute when you're surprised."

He blushed. "Well, thank you. I was about to say how cute you are when you're mad."

She smiled and leaned her head on his chest. He picked her up and carried her in his arms yet again, through the field of grass, careful not to trip on anything. "There's a clearing up ahead by that tree. See?"

"Yes."

He set her down gently on the ground and pointed up at the sky. She gasped in amazement .

She had never seen a clearer sky than this. She spun around in a circle and collapsed on the ground, still shocked. "Jimmy, it's so _gorgeous _out here!"

"Told you!"

He plopped down on the ground next to her and took her in his arms. Feeling spontaneous and comfortable, Cindy removed the hairclip from her hair and shook her head, her blonde hair flowing to her shoulders. Jimmy stared at her, his blue eyes sparkling.

"What are _you_ looking at, Neutron?"

"You, of course. I just wanted to say, I always loved it when you wore your hair down."

She smiled for the millionth time that night and kissed him softly on the lips. When she pulled away, he held her closer and they gazed into the night sky.

"Jimmy?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what, my love?"

"For everything. For being so mean to you. For calling you Bigbrain…and Nerdtron…and Spewtron and all that stuff. Our competition was always so stupid. I'm glad we became friends."

"I am, too."

"But you know what I'm most sorry for?"

"What?"

"For not realizing just how wonderful you really were sooner than I did. I love you, you…beautiful nerd, you."

He laughed. "Took the words right out of my mouth, Vortex."

She looked up at him, and he looked down at her. He laid his head on hers and played with her hair. She took his bangs and toyed with them, the way she had always dreamed of doing. After a few moments, she let out a blissful sigh and leaned back into him to continue watching the sky.

"Beautiful."

"Just like you."

She turned to face him and kissed him on the cheek. He pouted. She laughed at his expression. "You dork. Okay, I'll give you what you want."

She kissed him on the lips yet again, knowing that no matter how many times she did, it'd never lose its passion. She was deep in love, and so was he. That was all that mattered. They sat in silence for a few minutes, gazing intently at the galaxy above them. Suddenly, Jimmy decided to have a little fun and tickled Cindy's stomach.

"Eek! Jimmy! Stop it, you know I'm _very_ ticklish!"

"Did that ever stop me before!"

"QUIT IT!" But of course, he didn't. So she got back at him.

"Ahh! Cindy!"

"Oooh! Who's dominating now? I should've known the unbreakable James Isaac Neutron's one weakness is the fact that _he's ticklish!"_

The two laughed, giggled and wrestled on the ground for nearly ten minutes before Cindy finally found Jimmy's "spot"(the back of his neck) that was more ticklish than any other, causing him to squeak, which led to hysterical laughter from Cindy and a sheepish grin and flushed face from Jimmy. Finally, they grew weary and Jimmy went back to holding Cindy in his arms, breathing in the scent of citrus shampoo from her hair. They had been so absorbed in each other they failed to notice all the stars soaring across the already starlit sky.

"Look, Jimmy! A shooting star!"

"Technically, Cindy, it's a comet. You see it--"

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, you stupid genius. Why don't you shut up and make a wish?"

"I don't need to."

She looked at him questioningly.

"You already came true."

That turned her into mush, even though that line was _incredibly _overused. She kissed him once again, then leaned back and drifted into a somewhat euphoric state. Four years ago she never would've thought Jimmy to be the one that would make her weak at the knees, to make her heart melt. When they were thirteen and in seventh grade, they put their rivalry aside to become the best friends that they had been to this day. But still, she had no romantic feelings until another two years went by. Wait. What the heck was she thinking? She had had feelings for Jimmy since the day he moved to Retroville! She remembered seeing him standing next to the moving van, petting Goddard's head and smiling. She recalled how cute she thought he was. She had never thought their was hope for their relationship until they were fifteen, when Jimmy told her that he had realized that he had no romantic feelings for Betty, contrary to Cindy's belief. He had been sick that day; he said that after a long day of being alone with his thoughts, he soon realized that she was, in fact, _not_ the one for him. He had said that there was someone else more perfect for him than Betty would _ever_ be. But he hadn't said who. She knew now that that "someone" was her. And she was so glad.

Jimmy was having similar thoughts at the time. He remembered stepping out of his family's car that fateful day eight years ago and seeing the cutest little blonde girl with the cutest pigtails. He recalled the day they first met in the park, where she had tried to show up Goddard with her dog, Humphrey. He never told her this, but he had always felt bad for frying her hair that day, even if he laughed at her on the outside. Their competition was fun for awhile, but finally he just got tired of fighting with the one he loved the most. And now, after so many painful days and awkward outings, here he was, holding her in his arms. He could feel his heartbeat through his chest; he wasn't going to screw this up. Not this time.

Jimmy looked at his watch. _Midnight! Aww, man. We have to leave._ He sighed. _I could stay like this forever._

"Cindy? Cin? We've gotta leave. It's midnight. The dance should be ending by now."

No answer.

He looked down at her. She was fast asleep, wisps of her blonde hair hanging in her face. He smiled and gingerly tickled her face with his nose. Then he scooped her up into his arms and carried her to his car.

"James?"

Jimmy looked up, almost dropping Cindy. "Hey, Mrs. Vortex."

"Why's Cynthia asleep?" she looked at him with suspicion.

He fashioned a story in his head. "The dance really wore her out, I guess. We got in the car and within seconds she was asleep! I was going to take her somewhere to get a little something to eat before we went home, but I didn't want to wake her up. So I took her straight home."

Mrs. Vortex shook her head and smiled at Jimmy knowingly. "Don't even _try_ to lie to me, James."

"Huh?"

"I saw the way you were looking at her when you walked in here. And I have a pretty good guess of everything that happened between the two of you tonight."

Jimmy blushed. _Damn. I should've known, Cindy had to get her intelligence from _somebody. _I am in such trouble..._

"It's okay. I know how much my daughter cares about you. And I think I know her well enough and _you_ well enough to know that I can trust the both of you. Frankly, I'm happy that she's with someone like James Neutron."

Jimmy smiled. "Thank you, Mrs. Vortex. I swear, I'd never do anything to hurt Cindy."

"I'm glad to hear that. You can take her up to her room, if you want."

"I will. Goodnight, Mrs. Vortex."

"Goodnight, James."

Jimmy slowly walked up the stairs, careful not to wake his princess, as he endearingly thought of her. He opened the door to her room. He was her boyfriend now; he felt a blush creep up his face, knowing that being in her room had taken on a new meaning. But he would discover what that new meaning held for them at a later date. He loved her, but he respected her as well.

Cradling her head, he laid her gently down on her bed. Thinking she might get cold, he grabbed the pink comforter, neatly folded at the end of the bed, and covered her with it. Planting a kiss on her forehead, he whispered, "Goodnight, Cindy." And then he headed home.

He opened the door to his house and saw his parents sitting on the couch, watching a late night movie. "Hey, Mom and Dad."

Hugh Neutron looked up at his son and jokingly glared at him. "Quiet, Jim. Your mom's asleep."

Jimmy laughed. _They sure do love to fall asleep on our shoulders._

"Did you have a good time tonight, son?"

"Yeah, I really did." _More than he'll ever know. _

"Good."

"Well, I'm heading off to bed. Super tired. 'Night, Dad."

"Goodnight, son."

Goddard was the first thing Jimmy saw when he opened the door to his room. The robotic dog was sitting on his master's bed, and perked up once he was him enter. A message flashed across his screen: "Did you tell her?"

Jimmy smiled and nodded. He could hardly hear Goddard's small bark and he could hardly feel the mechanical paws scratching at his ankles. All he could hear was her voice inside his head and all he could feel was her kiss as it lingered still on his lips. Finally, he patted the mechanical dog's head and walked over to his bed, falling backwards onto it. He smiled yet again, closed his eyes and whispered happily, "Yessssss!"

* * *

_FINE!  
Hope everyone enjoyed this fic. I've got ideas on my head for two more Jimmy Neutron fanfictions and one Danny Phantom fanfic. They'll be more angsty than this one, though. (fair warning) R&R as always, thanks to everyone who has!_


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